When Should I Claim Social Security?Social Security Timing, Planned With Your Whole Income Picture.
Your claiming age sets your check for life and can shape a spouse’s. Maartin shows how each age fits your income plan, using Social Security’s own rules. The decision stays yours.
The Short Answer
You can start Social Security as early as 62, and waiting raises your check each month until 70. Full retirement age is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. Claiming early shrinks every check for life. Maartin shows how each age fits the rest of your income plan; the choice stays yours.
Source: Social Security’s rules (eCFR.gov) and the Federal Register
Three Numbers Worth Knowing
- 70%
- The share of your full benefit you receive for life if you claim at 62 with a full retirement age of 67.
- 124%
- The share you receive if you wait until 70, after 36 months of delayed credits at two-thirds of 1% each.
- $24,480
- The 2026 earnings limit if you claim before full retirement age and keep working. Above it, $1 is withheld per $2 earned.
The Claiming Window
Every Year Between 62 And 70 Changes The Check.
For anyone with a full retirement age of 67, this is the share of the full benefit each claiming age pays, worked out from Social Security’s own formulas.
- Age 6270% Of Full
- Age 6375% Of Full
- Age 6480% Of Full
- Age 6586.7% Of Full
- Age 6693.3% Of Full
- Age 67Full Benefit
- Age 70124% Of Full
Waiting Past 67 Adds 8% A Year
Social Security credits two-thirds of 1% for each month you delay after full retirement age, up to 70. Twelve months makes 8%.
A Spouse’s Check Can Follow Yours
A surviving spouse’s benefit is based on your full benefit plus any delayed credits you earned, so your claiming age can follow your spouse for life.
Beyond The Percentages
Four Rules That Shape The Decision.
These rules from Social Security, the IRS and California change what each claiming age means for your household.
A Spouse’s Benefit Caps At Half
A spouse can receive up to half of your full benefit. Delayed credits raise your own check and leave the spousal benefit where it was.
Working While Claiming
Claim before full retirement age and keep working, and Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480 in 2026. A higher limit applies the year you reach full retirement age.
Taxes On Your Benefits
Federal tax can reach part of your benefits once your other income, plus half your benefits, passes a base amount. California leaves Social Security out of state taxable income.
The Yearly Increase
Benefits rise each year with a cost-of-living adjustment: 2.8% for 2026. A larger check grows by more dollars each time.
Worth A Closer Look
Situations Where Timing Matters Most.
If one of these describes you, the claiming age deserves a side-by-side comparison before you file.
- You’re The Higher Earner In A MarriageYour delayed credits carry over to a surviving spouse’s benefit.
- You Plan To Work Before 67The earnings limit can hold back part of an early benefit while you are still drawing a paycheck.
- You Stop Working Before You ClaimSavings, a pension or an annuity has to cover the years in between. See retirement income planning.
- You’re WidowedSurvivor benefits can start as early as 60, and the timing of your own benefit may differ from the survivor benefit.
- Your Other Income Is HighWithdrawals and pensions decide how much of your benefit is federally taxed.
- You’re Retiring Within A Few YearsClaiming is one decision among several. See what the retiring soon years involve.
Working With Maartin
How Maartin Fits Social Security Into Your Plan.
- 01
Start With Your Statement
Bring your latest Social Security statement, and your spouse’s. Its estimates are the starting point for every comparison.
- 02
Map The Gap Years
If you stop working before you claim, Maartin shows which savings, pension or annuity income carries those years.
- 03
Compare Ages Side By Side
Your household’s income at different claiming ages, with a survivor’s income in view and your CPA weighing in on taxes.
- 04
The Choice Stays Yours
You make the claiming decision with Social Security’s own figures, and you file directly with Social Security.
Maartin explains Social Security’s rules; the claiming decision is always yours.
Questions
Common Questions
What is my full retirement age?
67 if you were born in 1960 or later. If you were born a few years earlier, it falls between 66 and 67, depending on your birth year. Your Social Security statement shows yours.
Can I claim at 62 and keep working?
Yes. Before full retirement age, Social Security withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480 in 2026. A higher limit applies in the year you reach full retirement age, counting only the months before it, and the test stops once you reach it.
How do spousal benefits work?
A spouse can receive up to half of the worker’s full benefit, reduced if the spouse claims before their own full retirement age. Delayed retirement credits raise the worker’s own check and leave the spousal benefit unchanged.
What happens to my benefit when my spouse dies?
A widow or widower’s benefit is based on the deceased spouse’s benefit, including any delayed retirement credits they earned, and it is smaller if the deceased spouse claimed early. Survivor benefits can start as early as 60, reduced for each month before the survivor’s full retirement age.
Does Maartin tell me when to claim?
Maartin explains Social Security’s rules and shows how each claiming age fits your income plan. MJR Financial & Insurance Services does not give Social Security advice, so the claiming decision stays yours. For the rules in more depth, read when to claim Social Security.
Sources
- Retirement benefits can start at 62; widow(er) benefits at 60
- Full retirement age 67 for those born in 1960 or later
- Early reduction formula, used to compute 70% at 62 (60 months: 36 x 5/9 = 20% plus 24 x 5/12 = 10%), 75% at 63, 80% at 64, 86.7% at 65 and 93.3% at 66
- Delayed credits run from full retirement age to 70
- Spousal benefit equals one-half of the worker’s full benefit
- Widow(er) benefit equals the deceased worker’s full benefit
- Federal tax on benefits depends on MAGI plus half of benefits versus a base amount
- California excludes Social Security from taxable income
Deciding When To Claim?
See Every Age
Side By Side.
Bring your Social Security statement and your spouse’s, and see how each claiming age fits your income.
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